Caroline Burke | Burkatron

remember those hyper gel nail polishes from models own.. well now they've launched a clear top coat! I thought this was a brilliant idea as you can add a gel effect finish to your whole nail polish to collection with just one product. 

I've tried it over a topshop's green room polish to show you how it looks..

I'm a sucker for ripped jeans! when I moved house I found quite a few pairs of old jeans hiding out in the loft.. rather than buying new ones I decided to update them.

mesh top: asos

bandeau top underneath: topshop

faux leather shorts: little mistress (c/o)

semi transparent shopper: topshop

leopard print pumps: daniel footwear (c/o)

oh em geee the weather has been so up and down this week! I've gone from hiding under umbrellas during thunderstorms to whacking out my bikini in an attempt to get my tan on in the garden.. crazy.

I'm pretty keen to start wearing some of my summer wardrobe so when I woke up to sunshine last week I took these faux leather shorts from girls on film out for a whirl! I wanted these to be quite wearable (read.. not skintight/bum cheek peekage) I often find shorts hard to find as I'm between sizes but to my delight they're pretty darn perfect! I paired them with my new mesh top as I liked the mix of textures (I'm so glad I nabbed this asos one because the zara one I wanted sold out before I could get it!) the black shopper was a topshop sale buy, I wasn't sure if I even liked it at first but the semi transparent perspex won me over ..well that and the fact I can fit my laptop inside!

these leopard print daniel pumps are just gorgeous in the flesh, seriously babin'. I know you've probably twigged I'm a real flats/converse kinda girl so I'm always looking for cool slip ons to wear.. these are going to be an absolute staple for me with my skinnies, hurrah!

happy bank holiday guys!

back soon

caroline x

laser cut dress: rare london (c/o)

trench coat: h&m

bag: vintage

sandals: shelikes (c/o)

I have to admit I've never been a huge fan of trench coats.. well until amy and megan that is. these two babes have been rocking trench coats with such panache that I have officially been converted #teamtrench. 

they are pretty darn perfect for this time of year though, not too heavy, not too light (especially with the unpredictable showers that seem to be following me around this week!) I've paired mine with this lovely dress from rare london, I loved the laser cut out details on the sleeves and the sheer layering on the body. I think if I wore it with a high pony and changed the shoes it could look a little more edgy too.

speaking of shoes, these chunky gladiator sandals are an actual dream. they've not given me a single blister since I've worn them so expect to see me wearing these puppies again soon! 

I hope you're all excited for the bank holiday? there's a vintage car boot sale on monday so I'm looking forward to dragging the bf round! until then I plan on buddying up with a family sized bag of popcorn and my pj's.. fun times.

back soon

caroline x

to start the brogue design paint your entire nails with two coats of white polish and leave to dry. next take a small brush and draw a black  m shape about 1/3 down from the tip. 

paint in the remaining third of the nail with black polish so your nails look like mine (above)

I've used models own nail art tool kit* to paint this design, I've never used 'proper' nail art brushes before (just old paintbrushes) and I fully recommend these if you don't have any tools! the brush fibres are nice and compact so there's no stray bristles and there's something for every nail art technique from dots and stripes through to gradients (there's also some nail art tape which I'm excited to try for colour blocking!)

next paint a black horizontal line across each nail.. to finish use a dotting tool to dab white dots along the black line and over the arches as above. 

seal with a good slick of topcoat and taa daaa... brogues on your fingers (no blisters guaranteed!) 

do you like? 

if you have any requests for nail art tutorials let me know!

caroline x

ps. don't forget to enter my luxury pamper giveaway, there's 10 hampers to win! fingers crossed everyone!

crop sweat: h&m similar here

hayden bf jeans: topshop

crop knit: topshop

cat: borrowed

so I've had a few slips on the shopping ban this month.. I blame a combination of stress ..and well topshop quite frankly! 

I adore bf jeans so I totally fell for this hayden denim. I actually risked squeezing into the smallest possible size I could fit into as I had a feeling they'd stretch slightly ..and they did making them a perfect fit! I thought the crop sweater was perfect for this in between weather we're having so it's a good option for wearing with skirts and skinnies.. plus it was pink.

oh and meet the little rascal.. I'm cat sitting for my brother at the minute and she's rather fond of jumping up on my desk as soon as the camera comes out. I've given up attempting to work around her..

braun satin hair 7*

good lord, you'd never have thought a hairdryer would cause such excitement. I inherited my mums old one when I moved house and it was honestly made dying my hair a game of  russian roulette.. I never figured out if the smell of burning was down to a. hair being fried or b. the dryers impending explosion.

cue the satin 7 arrival, this little beauty dries my hair super quickly and even on the highest setting I never feel like I'm damaging my hair. the real beauty to this dryer is the iontec magic switch which I'm convinced leaves my hair looking shinier. have you ever spent an hour trying on clothes in the fitting rooms and walked out with hair so static it looked like you'd had a fight with a balloon? well I've not had even a whiff of the dreaded static hair that plagued me through the winter.. thus enabling me to spend even more time trying on clothes in topshop (much to the dismay of my bf) braun I salute you.

daisy shorts: topshop 

sliders: topshop

I also caved and bought these daisy shorts with some vouchers I had left over from my birthday. they look more like a skirt on as they're fairly floaty and loose, I can't seem to find them online at the minute but they'll probably still be in store. these shoes are just my absolute fave even if they have skinned my big toe ..dang.

barry m gelly polishes

I took advantage of a 3 for 2 offer and grabbed a few of the pastel gelly polishes. yikes.. the pale blue huckleberry might just be my favourite shade of 2014 so far.

my only problem? I've found they are chipping quite easily on my nails so I recommend a good top coat. although I should add that I've found some of my regular polishes are also chipping quickly too so I'm wondering if maybe my nails are quite weak and possibly to blame? 

I might have to start back on the nail care and strengthening regime.

and here's a shot of the dreamy huckleberry.

colour blocked dress: yayer (c/o)

cambridge satchel: asos

satin bomber: american apparel

sliders: topshop

I still have a bit of a crush on pastels so this seriously pretty colour block dress from yayer had PICK ME written all over it. it comes with cute little cami straps so I can wear it over a white tee if I'm feeling a bit 90's but it's still floaty enough to make me feel rather princess-esque. 

I nabbed this satin bomber from the aa factory outlet in NYC and I'm still trying to figure out why it was reduced.. possibly because I look like an extra from miami vice in it? who knows.. the mystery continues.

 I had intended to wear with some dr marten style chunky boots and leather jacket but I threw on my topshop sliders at the last minute ..I wish I hadn't as the little blighters completely skinned my big toe after 5 minutes so I'm sporting a glam plaster/sandal combo, damn you tissue paper feet. 

I shall be going back for seconds though 'cause I love them.. be gentle ugly beautiful sandals.

caroline x

ps. the cosmo blog awards have opened and if you'd like to nominate burkatron well you'd pretty much make my week! hope you've had a good weekend rascals :)

I had some wickedness arrive in my postbox recently.. nail mail from the queen of nail art tammy at DIY nails!

I couldn't resist showing you these misfit decals from their bad blood clothing collab, they're crazy easy to apply and last for ages (perfect for those less inclined to do nail art themselves)

I painted a base coat of my favourite new colour barry m huckleburry and then cut out the faces of my new friends (one for each finger!)

one at a time place your decals into a little bowl of water (I find this easiest) wait at least 10 seconds before you fish them out! slide the decal off the backing paper and onto your nail.

easy peasy... the hardest part was picking who to wear! seal with topcoat to finish and I guarantee these decals will last longer than your nail polish.

DIY nails water decals*

celeb nail art in minutes.. seriously who wouldn't want johnny depp under the thumb? 

if you're tempted to try these you MUST check out their new in section for lots of other nail delights...

do we like?

caroline x